The starting point for the artists' theme is an old, stylish homeless woman who lives on the streets of Tokyo-Kunitachi. It is the neighbourhood of artist Ebata Kyoko. Seeing her every day on her way to work, started a process of reflecting on the dynamics of communication that happen in public spaces. Especially to strangers who are forced to switch public space into their private settings.

Turning a common place like a bench, a front door or stairs of an empty shop into a private setting can be confusing for others, disturbing, or sometimes inviting. It is an interaction that differs from the common expectations. It creates a space of uncertainty. And it confronts us with the construction of the space itself and how it is socially regulated.

Starting from this the artist's goal was to investigate the way of communication in this public place.Ebata Kyoko started to think of the condition of the homeless woman and how to interact with her – or not. At that day she will invite us to join her for an art picnic on blue sheets in her garden. While Eva Kietzmann, through drawings, reflects on urban design and how it regulates people's interaction.

The project space “House of Ebata”, is located in the garden of the artists private house. The event is going to take place in cherry blossom season. In this season, all Japanese go under the cherry blossom, sit on blue sheets and drink sake: In these late evenings, we see homeless people and office ladies talking and drinking together, under the blossom as the same drunken people.

It is known that homeless people collect the “blue sheets” used as picnic sheets, and use them to make their houses later. The magic of the blossom gives us a illusion of communication.

There are no cherry blossom trees in the garden of Ebata but the street outside her house are filled with blossoms. However, the event is meant to be a site specific interaction with the environment in which the homeless woman live.

Remark:

Please be aware that the performance will be documented. If you do not want to appear in the picture please let us know before the event starts.

Artist. b. Tokyo, studied in Geneva and Oxford for high schools, graduated from Goldsmiths' College

Ebata works in various mediums including photography, video and performance. She works on diverse projects, each employing a concrete poetics to investigate or circumscribe subjects which are felt as absent, abstract, or invisible with antilogy often referring to the state of society.

Born in Mainz, Germany, graduated from the University of the Arts Berlin, Germany in 2009 with an MFA in Art in Context and HFG Offenbach, Germany in 2005 with a diploma in experimental Film, Videoart and Performance. Also she holds an M.A. in information science.

Selected activities:

2017 What’s unfolding, Museum Forum alte Post, Pirmasens, Germany

2017 What’s unfolding, Arp Museum, Remagen, Germany

2016 The Sewoon Hangeul Clock. for the people in Sewoon Sangga, Space Ba, Seoul, South Korea

展覧会場である「House of Ebata」はアーティストの自宅の庭にある。展覧会は桜の花見シーズンに行われる。この時期には日本人全員が桜の花の下で饗宴すると言っても過言ではない。深夜の上野公園で、ＯＬとホームレスが酔っ払い同士の会話を繰り広げることも目撃されることもある。そして、花見の後はホームレスが御座として使われたブルーシートを集めて自分たちの住処を作るのだ。桜の魔力がコミュニケーションの幻想を生み出すとも言えよう。

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